


Change of plans

by GhastlyGhost



Series: Good Good neighbors (series) [3]
Category: Fallout (Video Games), Fallout 4
Genre: Gen, Sergeant Baker is a man you find in Quincy whose death gains you affinity with Preston
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-03-18
Updated: 2017-03-18
Packaged: 2018-10-07 09:16:47
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,984
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10357131
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/GhastlyGhost/pseuds/GhastlyGhost
Summary: This is a short story about how L1-50 ended up deciding to leave the Institute during their time infiltrating the Gunners.





	

Blood. Red, warm, and thick. It spilled on the bed, the ground, the doctor's fingers. 

A man dressed in green fabric lay down, hardly moving. With a hoarse voice, he managed to utter softly to the doctor trying to treat his wounds.  
“Emma, Don’t... don’t let me die.”

Others were in the room handing over equipment, injecting him with the right chems, and even using breathing apparatus salvaged from old hospitals.  
“Jace, just hold on. Okay? I am going to help you through this,” a slow voice assured. 

The voice sounded off. Distant, somehow, and a little canned. Suddenly, there was a sharp pain that proceeded until he passed out. He faded in and out several times, groaning at the pain, but unable to do anything. Even clenching was too much at this point. He didn't wake up, after a certain point. The procedure was done. He could rest, heavily medicated on Med-x.

The doctor left the room after having cleaned up some. Well, washed their hands, at least. The otherwise white fabric of their coat was still stained with the blood of their patient.

A man clad in full upper body combat armor waited outside the room with his arms crossed and his back against the wall. His head was hanging forward and he stared at the ground with a deep frown. The doctor clearly knew he was there, because they paused after taking just two steps outside. 

“How'd it go?” The man asked, looking at the doctor from under his brows.

The doctor only turned their face a little to the side to look at him. “Jace is going to make it, Baker, but barely.”

“And the rest of them?”

There was a brief pause, after which Emma sighed and turned around.  
“I’m afraid the damage was too severe for most. I’m...”

Baker raised his hand to cut them off mid-sentence.  
“Leave it, Em. They knew what they were getting themselves into. Besides, it's the Minutemen that should be sorry.”

Emma took a deep breath and folded her arms over her chest. “I tried to make their deaths swift.”

“Such mercy,” the man commented with a small chuckle. He looked at Emma with a lingering grin, and brushed the tip of his nose with his thumb. “Em... Promise me you won’t show that to those Minute assholes when we get them.”

“Only in killing them just as swiftly, Sergeant,” Emma assured with a small nod.

Baker pushed himself off the wall with a his shoulders and moved his hands onto his sides. “As long as they get taken care of.”

Emma mimicked his stance, placing their hands on their sides as well, and resting their weight on one leg. “I think your fat man has got that covered.”

The grin on Baker's face grew wider, wrinkling the skin around his eyes, which held a mischievous glint in them.  
“Well, I see something else my fat man would like to cover.”

Emma tilted her head and gave Baker a puzzled look. “What?” Eventually, the realization set in. His eyes betrayed it. That was an entirely different fat man he'd meant. Emma sighed and quickly pressed a hand to the forehead while shutting their eyes. “Shouldn’t you be talking to Tessa right now?”

“Aw, you don’t like the way I talk?” Baker teased, taking a few steps closer and resting his stance a little while he looked down at Emma's face.

Brown eyes locked onto each other, and Emma pulled a faint smile, after which they gave him a quick tap on the chest, and answered, “Not when I’m on the job, no.”

“Hm.” Baker shifted his weight to one side, and pressed his lips together, then let out a soft laugh. “Let me know when you’re free, then.”

He turned around, slowly, keeping his eyes on Emma's, and started walking. “I actually still have work to do, as well, if I'm gonna be honest here.”

“You slacker,” Emma sighed while shaking their head. 

They watched him walk through the hall. He wasn't the most handsome, best dressed, nor well washed man, but he was more fun to be around than some of his rank.  
“You should lose the hat when we hang out, by the way,” Emma called after him.

He looked at them from the corners of his eyes, and tapped the side of his head. “I'll try to remember that.”

A lot of time passed. People switched shifts, and went to bed.

It was dark outside. The only light was that of the moon shining down on two figures outside the Gunner building, one in a long black coat, the other in green.

“Unit L1-50,” a low and monotonous voice sounded from the taller, leather clad, unit. “It’s been decided that you are to relocate to Goodneighbor, after leaving this squad.” 

Emma stood in the shadows, listening, nodding only to denote that they understood what was being told to them.

“You will do this without Institute assistance. It is recommended that you wait for an opportunity that makes your departure look natural.”

“The Institute wanted some of the Gunners dealt with for encroaching on Institute operations,” Emma noted. “I could weaken their numbers, now, if still needed. Several are in critical condition. Some of their deaths would not raise any suspicion.”

The courser’s eyes rested on theirs. A brief moment of silence passed, as they both thought on the suggestion. 

“It would also encourage them to attack the Minutemen, which would result in more losses, and provide a means to defect.” 

Of course, Emma already knew that they had planned on retaliation already. The diminished numbers were more likely to give them some pause, even with Tessa around, but the Gunners weren't opposed to losing troops when it came to killing Minutemen.

“What you think will work best,” the courser concluded. The Institute had no exact orders for switching locations right now, but one did have to admit that weakening both the Gunners and the Minutemen would be best. They both meddled in Institute affairs too often.

It was quiet that night, after the courser had left, even quieter when, one by one, those in the most critical conditions stopped breathing.

Emma moved quietly and quickly. One life at a time was cut short. It was hard, but it had to be done. As though nothing had happened, Emma slipped into their bed. No one had seen them doing the Institute's dirty work. No one knew. 

The next day, Emma was awoken by a gentle touch on the shoulder. 

“Emma,” a young voice uttered. “Bad news.” 

Emma's eyes opened. A slight sense of dread set in as they pushed themself up and stared at the blonde man crouched next to them. “What's wrong?”

“Some more of the others in Jace’s squad died while you slept,” he answered. “We tried to save them, but it was too late before we could even get to you.” 

“Damn it,” Emma hissed, tilting their face down, and pressing their hands against the sides of their head. They slammed their fist down on the bed. “God, damn it.”

“We did all we could, Em.” 

After the talk with their co-worker, Emma had made their way to the rest of the patients to check on them. Some had deteriorated, other were less unlucky. Emma worked to get all those who'd gotten worse to a more stable condition. 

They sighed afterwards, and leaned their hands against a table with supplies in one of the now cleared out medical brooms. They closed their eyes, and stood there in silence. 

Footsteps echoed into the room. Emma didn't move, but they were aware that someone had just come in.

“I heard what happened.”

Emma opened their eyes, and turned their face. “Sergeant Baker.”

“We'll get them for this, Em. Don't worry about it.”

A lot of planning went into this. The team waited for Jace and his remaining people to recover, so they could get their vengeance personally. They'd pinpointed the exact group of Minutemen responsible for their loss, and shadowed them.

They knew their preferred weapons, their escape routes, and their traveling paths. They'd set up traps, and waited.

Emma stood at the ready, next to Baker, behind the cover of a crumbled viaduct support. A quick look from their cover revealed something that changed everything.

Children.

Three young children walked along in the midst of a guarded caravan, together with the Minutemen that were the actual targets, and they were headed straight for a carpet of mines. 

Emma's heart sank and they briefly held their breath before, in a split second without thought, they ran from behind cover, screaming, “Stop.” 

The Minutemen and caravan guards, pulled their weapons at Emma, who stood steadfast with their own weapon also at the ready. 

“Stop, right now, before you all die,” Emma shouted once more, after which the Gunners got out of cover as well, showing the caravan that they were surrounded. 

The caravan guards raised their hands in surrender almost immediately after seeing the numbers and the weapons. 

“What is this about?” The Minuteman at the front, likely the Colonel, asked. “This isn't a toll.”

“Minutemen,” Jace shouted as he walked forward with his gun aimed at the one with the nicest hat. “You killed my men.”

It was clear that the Minutemen had no idea what this guy was talking about, until one of them widened their eyes and stared up at Jace, slightly lowering their weapons. 

Emma quickly encroached upon them, trying to get closer to the Caravan, in case a fire fight broke out.

There were a lot more Minutemen than the Gunners had counted on. Some of Jace’s men shared quick glances with each other as they questioned their situation.

“Walk forward,” Jace commanded the one Minuteman in the front.

He listened, but scanned the ground, Emma's voice sticking in his head. Why did this person just jump out like that, far before they were in ambush range. He wondered, up until he spotted the carpet of mines in front of him. Large eyes glided over the road to see just how long this thing was, after which he searched the Gunners for the one that jumped out of cover before they'd gotten there. This trap was meant to kill them all, but this one Gunner stopped them. 

“Walk forward,” Jace repeated, keeping his gun on the Minuteman Colonel's head. “Or I'll shoot.”

Either way he looked at it, someone was going to die. Least he could do was put up a fight. The Colonel made an inclination to step farther, but then quickly shouted, “Open fire.” 

His people listened almost immediately, getting the jump on the Gunners, who fucked for cover, while the Colonel ran back away from the mines. “Everyone, stay back,” he warned as he fell in line.”

Baker loaded his missile launcher with his only rocket, and fired to the side of the field. The Minutemen saw it, and it ended up narrowly missing most of the troops there, much to Baker's annoyance. All that shit was good for was scaring them.

The Minutemen Colonel glanced back when he heard screams, and saw the children try to hide behind their parents while their brahmin ran off, and he hasted towards them to escort them to cover. In that same moment, he saw a flash of military green and white run for one of the other children, who had run to the outskirts of the road. He was ready to shoot, until his eyes rested upon what seemed like the Gunner was shielding the child behind the leg of the semi collapsed viaduct above them. 

He stared from behind his own cover, in between taking shots, watching as the Gunner seemingly comforted this child while occasionally peering at him and at the battle on the road. The child clearly wanted to be with her siblings, but it was too dangerous. It looked like the Gunner noticed something on the battlefield, and raised their weapon. A plasma rifle. These weren't the regular type of Gunner troops he'd run into.

The Colonel raised his weapon at them, thinking that this was an attempt to fire potshots at his men, but a series of loud explosions shook him, and he turned his head to the battle in a panic.

It seemed that some Gunners had gotten close to their own mines, and we're using cars with intact, but damaged, engines as cover. 

He looked back at the Gunner behind the viaduct leg, who now ran with the child, until close enough to his side of the road to let her run on her own, while they stayed between her and any possible fire, even as the Gunners scattered to avoid the coming blasts from the cars. 

The little girl ran into her mother's arms, and the Gunner briefly met his gaze as they checked to make sure the little girl had made it. 

He wasn't sure what to think, but he did know that this stranger had given them all a chance. 

“Stay here,” he said to the caravan members, and then turned to their guards. “Start moving these people away from the area. If any Gunners make it here, open fire, and hold your positions while the caravan runs.”

After that, he ran out of his cover, and took place beside the Gunner. They both headed for the cover of a grouping of rocks next to the road. 

The way this Gunner didn't acknowledge him was both troubling and a bit of a comfort. It meant that they were focused on the fight, and that they likely did not see him as an enemy, but it also kept him from knowing more than that. 

He moved forward as he fired, until he was in front of his men. The Gunner still stood next to him. The white coat seemed to have thrown his men through a loop, as they'd never actually run into a Gunner dressed in that manner, and the coat hid their armor from behind. 

“Everyone, start pulling back,” he commanded through his radio, while also making a quick gesture with one hand. 

While their numbers, at this point, were slightly larger, he didn't want to risk losing anyone, or any more. Some injured had been pulled behind cover, and had to be taken out of this fight, as soon as possible. 

As the Minutemen moved back, the Gunners moved forward, some getting picked off by Minutemen who waited behind cover as the Gunners moved out from theirs. 

Emma remained next to the Colonel, offering fire support while they tried to get to Sergeant Baker. 

Their shots were aimed to incapacitate instead of kill, and it made quick work of most Gunner troops. Sure, they could still fire from their position, but they couldn't pursue anyone. 

When the Gunners got close enough, and Emma got at speaking range of Baker, Emma shouted, “Baker, hold your fire.” 

The sergeant actually paused at the sound of Emma's voice, his gun lowered when he saw them standing with the Minuteman they'd tried to kill just moments before the fight had started. “Em, what the hell is this?” 

“There were children, Baker,” Emma yelled back at him, holding their own gun at the ready, aimed right for his face. “You nearly killed children.”

“What?” Baker shook his head and straightened his stance. Some of the troops around him had started halting their fire and kept an eye on Emma, fully expecting them to shoot at their sergeant. “They were in the back. The bombs would have missed them.”

“They were only in the back once the fight started,” Emma argued.

“Em…” Baker furrowed his brows. “That happens. You know that. I know you've gotten soft over the years, but I thought-”

“Enough, Baker,” Emma interrupted. “I’ve had enough. Let these people retreat and attack them some other day.”

“Really, Em?” Baker spread his arms. “The caravan is gone.” 

At this point, most troops on both sides had stopped firing at each other. Emma and the Colonel kept their weapons on Baker. “If you don't leave or don't let these people go, I will kill you,” Emma threatened with a lowered voice. “You people can do whatever you want once they're gone, but I’m finished working with you.”

“Em, wait…” Baker placed his gun down and raised his hands next to his chest. “You don't really want to do this, do you?”

“Look around you, Baker. More are dying on our side than theirs,” they argued. “This is the second time. All this just so Jace can have his revenge?” 

No one had noticed that Emma was responsible for a lot of losses in this fight. No one suspected the doctor who had seemed so broken up over the deaths that occurred the last fight. 

Baker looked around. A lot of people were lying on the ground, either dead or injured. He sighed. “Fine, you're right,” he admitted, reluctantly. “We'll go. Let me gather the injured, and we'll stop fighting.”

“I don't trust you, when you have all your men around,” the Colonel argued.

“Yeah, well, right back at you,” Baker shot back. 

Emma slowly stretched out their hand to a nudge the Colonel farther away from Baker. “You send half your men away, I'll treat your troops, and you leave after that.”

Baker kept silent, and just kept eye contact with Emma. He shifted his lower jaw a little, then turned his face to the ground a shook his head, after which he let out a long sigh. “Fine.”

He turned towards his men and clapped twice, before gesturing to half of them. “You guys, move out of the area. We're retreating.”

Emma let out a soft sigh of relief, and shared a quick glance with the Colonel, who gave them a slow nod in gratitude. 

It was a strained truce. The Minutemen stayed on the road on one side of the Viaduct together with the caravan, and the Gunners remained on the other. Emma treated them both, as best as they could. They found out that the father of one of the children was hit with a stray bullet. It only hit his leg, luckily, but he was going to need some rest, which would get in the way of his travels. 

“You're not coming back with us, are you?” Baker asked Emma while they were treating burns on one of the Gunners that had been too close to the minefield when they'd shot it. 

Emma stayed quiet while collecting equipment for applying a brace, after they found that the Gunner next to the burn victim had a broken arm. 

Once stimpaks were applied, and the brace was on, they shook their head. “No, I said I'm done with you. I meant it.”

“But, Em, I thought we had it good.”

Emma didn't respond to that. They glanced up, and saw the Colonel they'd helped standing on the road, looking in their direction. 

They got up, and sighed. “I've done everything I can, here. You can take your men and go.”

Baker let out an agitated huff and cast his eyes to the ground, after which he also got up. “Fine.” 

“Men,” he shouted, while he swung his rocket launcher over his shoulder. “We're moving out.”

The able bodied Gunners lifted their injured allies over their shoulders, nodded at their leader, and started walking. 

Baker waited a bit, and watched Emma walk towards the Minutemen. They were quite a distance away, by now. “I hope we never run into each other again,” he yelled over to them.

Emma paid him little heed, and didn't even turn around when he started walking, not until they were next to the Colonel. Baker was already a big distance away.

“How are your men holding up?” Emma asked the Colonel after tearing their gaze away from Baker’s departure. 

“Better,” the Colonel replied, after which he gestured for Emma to follow him. “I've never run into a Gunner medic.”

“Most don't really make medical treatment their primary focus,” Emma explained. “Any casualties?” 

“Two,” the Colonel replied, with a quick tilt of the head. “It’s a damn shame, but it could have been far worse.”

“It could have,” Emma sighed.

“You stopped us just before we walked into the minefield,” the Colonel noted. “That was on purpose, wasn't it?”

Emma averted their eyes and pulled a crooked frown, but then uttered, “It was.”

“I didn't mention it while you were treating my men, but thank you.”

“I only did it because the children were there,” Emma said with a slight level of contempt in their voice. “I don't deserve thanks for sparing you on coincidence.” 

The Colonel shrugged. “Well, you got it, now.” 

They walked through to the most injured troops. They had scorched on their clothes and burns on their skin, but we're still moving, albeit while clearly in pain. Some had bandages and were given makeshift walking supports. 

“we were headed for the Castle for supplies, with this caravan,” the Colonel explained. “They were headed for Bunker Hill.” 

“That could be a dangerous trip with an injured group of soldiers,” Emma noted. There were super mutants that way. Though, not much, since the Minutemen dealt with the biggest amount of them. 

“We know how to avoid the more frequent dangers in the area, we'll be fine,” the Colonel assured with a nod. “However, we could use some help on the way there.”

“If you're offering me a place in the Minutemen, I'm not in,” Emma announced. “I just wanted to leave the Gunners, and that's all.”

The Colonel raised a hand and I have a quick nod. “It's only to make sure everyone makes it to the Castle. After that, you can do whatever it is you want.”

Emma lowered their brows at the Colonel. They really did feel that they'd rather have been with the Minutemen, but the Institute wanted something else. If they wanted them in the Minutemen, it wouldn't have been for anything good, anyway. ‘Unit L1-50’ had no say in the matter. The Castle wasn't even close to where they were meant to go, either. 

“Just think it over, at least,” the Colonel urged, before walking ahead, and checking if everything was almost ready for their travel to continue. 

Emma watched the man. He was kind. They didn't see why the Institute had something against these people. They never did. If the Institute wanted to help humanity, what was wrong with just helping people at a minute’s notice? The only times they actually got in the way of Institute operations was when it was harming someone or they just happened upon gen 2 scouts. 

Dark eyes turned towards the caravan. The girl they'd saved was being carried by one of her parents. She'd cried after it all was over, but she was calmer now, probably tired from all the thing happening around her at once. 

The wind blew in the distance, and Emma looked up at the road above. A crow was perched on the raised edge of the road, staring down at Emma. Well, it was nice to know that the Institute got a nice view of this debacle. How would they have rated the unit's acting? 

Emma finally shook their head, and walked back to the Colonel. It was time to find a way out of Institute hands. Maybe the Minutemen had an idea. Even just helping them to the Castle could prove enough grounds for Institute suspicion, if L1-50 didn't know how to explain the strategy behind it, but they didn't intend to have to answer to them soon after doing it. 

This servitude had gone on long enough. Helping the SRB find synths captured by the Gunners was one thing. They weren't going to help them capture units who found relatively safe harbor.

**Author's Note:**

> I updated Vance's rank, since it seems like the Minutemen use commissioned officer ranks instead of enlisted personnel ranks.


End file.
